As each school year comes to a close, the time arrives for the students of Germantown Academy to vote on the Visual Arts Senior Student Choice Award competition. This award commemorates the exceptional talent and various expressions of creativity within the Upper School, voted upon by their classmates. The winner of each year is awarded a 200$ cash prize, and their piece is permanently installed within the hallways of GA. This year’s fourth annual competition was won by the Sculpture and 3D Design Honors art student Claire McMichael ’23, with her ornately detailed GA/PC Day-inspired chess set.
The Student Choice Art Award was initially known as the Purchase Prize Award before the art department modified it to be based on student votes. Ms. Sarah Ritz, the 3D and Sculpture teacher, notes how the change encourages the student body to appreciate the creative process by interacting with their classmates’ art. She says, “As a department, we try to teach students to think critically about work because that’s how you grow and develop your work.” Ms. Ritz continues, “This allows all of the students at GA to put that lens on, and observe [the art].”
The chosen piece, McMichael’s GA/PC Day representative sculpture, is a product of Ms. Ritz’s final project which challenges students to create an intricate chess set that symbolizes something about themselves. Ms. Ritz says that in order to work through this assignment, “you have to be able to marry materials … they’re all mixed media, so you have to kind of understand what will work with another material.” McMichael’s piece is undeniably representative of this requirement, as she aptly combined an array of artistic mediums to bring her work to life.
The actual “board” of McMichael’s chess set is made of fake turf with a painted checker pattern in reference to Carey Stadium, which is surrounded by a copy of the surrounding track. The “pieces” of the set, which Ms. Ritz described as “32 miniature sculptures,” resemble emblematic objects from GA/PC day from either school, including tennis rackets, soccer cleats, and the famed trophy. Additionally, McMichael included an architecturally accurate model of the stands at Carey Stadium. This addition is meticulously detailed, from the duplicate set of stairs into the stands to the hand-painted stone pattern.
Regarding the inspiration for the piece, McMichael says, “GA/PC Day has always been one of my favorite GA traditions, so I wanted to make something that would capture the spirit of the day.” And capture the spirit of the day she did, as the depiction of the intensely competitive rivalry between Penn Charter and Germantown Academy shines from her piece. The creative decision to depict GA/PC Day was also influenced by McMichael’s status as a dedicated student-athlete. It is evident that she felt compelled to represent multiple facets of who she is in this personal piece.
The art department commends McMichael not only for her artistic abilities but also for her outstanding character inside the studio. Ms. Ritz says, “Claire’s a dream student. She is curious, hard-working, and super creative.” She continues, “[she] has an engine and a work ethic that doesn’t quit, as well as a heart of gold that never hurts either.” For Ms. Ritz, it is clear that McMichael’s undying work ethic has been what she refers to as the “secret sauce” to her artistic success.
As she moves on from her time at GA, McMichael plans to continue her creative journey by studying architecture. Meanwhile, the art department will continue to celebrate the craftsmanship and imagination that honors art students present to their peers every year through the annual Student Choice Award. Each new piece embodies the unique individual that created it, honoring their distinct contribution to the GA community in an ever-continuing legacy. As Ms. Ritz puts it, “The competition is a testimony to just the boundless creativity in human beings.”